Frenzy as Brighton Festival tickets are snapped up (From The Argus)

Frenzy as Brighton Festival tickets are snapped up

5:00pm Saturday 9th March 2013 in News By Ben James

Tickets for this year’s Brighton Festival are selling quickly – with a number of events already sold out.

Scores of art lovers braved the appalling weather for the opening day outside the main box office in New Road.

More than 5,000 tickets were sold yesterday alone, with a further 10,000 being snapped up by Festival members last week.

Events already sold out include Michael Rosen’s Bear Hunt and Chocolate Cake, comedian Daniel Kitson and the Preston Manor world premiere Contents of a House.

Free but ticketed events Felix Machines and High Street Odyssey are also fully booked.

Andrew Comben, the Dome and Festival chief executive, said: “It’s always great to see the reaction to Brighton Festival’s programme when we open booking to the public.

“The demand and enthusiasm for this year’s events has been recordbreaking.

"With so many shows across a wide range of art forms, it’s wonderful to see our programme capturing the imagination of ticket buyers old and new.”

Those who haven’t already got their tickets are being urged to head down to New Road box office or visit the website, with a number of events nearing capacity.

They include the likes of alternative rockers The Flaming Lips, iconic singer Sinead O’Connor, King Lear in St Nicholas Rest Garden, local production Britten: The Canticles and dance piece Sutra.

Despite queues outside the box office yesterday, bosses are reporting that more than 60% of sales have been through the website.

There are more than 80,000 tickets in total for the 370 shows across 33 venues.

To book call 01273 709709 or visit brightonfestival.org.

• Organisers are on the lookout for Festival Makers to volunteer during the three-week event.

They are hoping to build on the success of volunteering in 2012 by making this year’s Festival the most accessible and friendly to date.

Festival Makers could be tasked with everything from assisting with blogs and podcasts to meeting and greeting artists.

They could also find themselves assisting with the ticket office or even organising and producing welcome packs.

An open day for anyone thinking of helping out is being held on Tuesday between 4pm and 7pm in the Brighton Dome Studio Theatre Bar.

For more information visit http://brightondome.org/about_us/ jobs/.

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